Hiring a developer

Do you want to build a website but lack the skill and knowledge to do so. Do you know how to write killer content but are unable to build a good website to display it on. If so you should consider hiring an developer. To do so allow you to focus on what you are good on while others focus on what they do best. Everybody wins.

How much does it cost?

How much it costs to hire someone to develop a website for you can vary a lot depending on a number of different factors. The size and complexity of the website you want to build will of course affect the price. So will the choice of developer. Some developers will charge a lot more than others and a freelance developer in a developing nation will often be able to do the job at a lot lower price than what the local developer would charge.

To develop a website can cost anything from a couple of hundreds to several hundred thousands.

Does a higher price guarantee better work

No. Price have surprisingly little correlation to the quality of work. There are cheap developers that does surprisingly good work and there are expensive developers that do surprisingly poor work. You need to look at the developers previous work and the quality of the work done in the past to be able to tell who will do the best work.

The price says more about where the developer is located and how well established they are on the market. Giving a good up and coming designer a chance can give you a good website at a fantastic price.

Does hiring a local designer guarantee better work?

No. Unfortunately this is not the case. There are good developers in poor countries and bad developers here at home. You should never chose a developer due to where they are based.

With this said. It can be easier to communicate with a local designer. They might be able to understand what you want better than a developer that lives in a different culture where the values might be different. A website that purveys a feeling in one culture might not evoke the same feeling in another. It can therefore be easier to use a local designer. If you use one from abroad you might be forced to be more hands on and spend more time explaining things to them. Whether this is worth it or not depends on how much cheaper the designer abroad is and how high you value your time.

Before you start looking for a designer

Before you start looking for a designer you should take all the time you need to outline the project and to create a project plan that details exactly what you want to see in the website. This needs to include the scope of the project and what it will include.

How many different page layouts do you need?

Do the developer need to develop any special functions that you need?

Do you have any preferences in regards to which languages he can use?

Is the website supposed to be based on a certain CMS such as WordPress or Joomla?

Do the code need to be optimized?

Is there anything else that is important.

The project brief should tell the develop everything he needs to know to bid on the project and build the website. Anything the you do not put in the brief will be considered outside the scope of the project and will cost extra. Extra job often cost more than job that was a part of the initial contract. It is better to include everything from the start.